Last year i kite skied a fair bit, using some real old school 180s. They worked well, went fast, held a good edge. I did a bit of down hill too and going behind my atv, but only used my snow blades for that. I love the blades, they are so easy to do just about anything on, jump, spin, ride backwards. They just suck for going fast though, so not really good for just cruising on. Anyways, I was thinking of getting some new snow blades and doing the same this year, but was wondering if I should get some skis to do both with instead, maybe some twin tip park skis. What do you guys think? Is there much advantage to having twin tips or parabolic skis compared to the old straight ones for kiting? How do park skis compare to snow blades in the parks, require more skill but the potential to go bigger/ faster? thanks

twin tips are perfect skis for snowkiting because they are usually larger than old straight skis, so they offer more float on powder, and don't have much carve radius.

How about the Volkyl Karma? I think I remember hearing about them last season over at the Flexi forum.

I'm in the same boat - I'm on a set of 190 old school DH skis.

Nothing wrong with old school skis. I'm running old school DH, all-terrain and a set of soft tip bump skis. The bump skis are the most soft and have the largest side cut and get used the least. The DH and all-terrain get used the most and the harder the pack of the surface the more the DH skis are used.

Personally, I think the straighter the cut the better, especially if you are on any kind of ice suface. And if you ski in fields there is no reason to use a great ski unless you are certain of the under snow surface composition (stumps and rocks). Heck, even ice on ponds can have debris frozen in the surface.

If I was skiing off piste I'd use a nice set of skis to handle the varied terrain but there is no need for that where I kite.

If speed is all you are after I think you'd have great luck with an old school set of DH or GS skis. Stiff, straight and well waxed will get you cruising.

However, if are going to be jumping or riding on super hard pack where you can let your skis wash out on turns or slide around 180 degrees, then twin tips would be ideal.

It all depends on what you are looking for - just don't forget to tune them, crank the DIN up to the appropriate setting (or higher if you are jumping) and keep those edges sharp when on ice.